State agencies encourage seniors to participate in the program, but don't do active outreach. And many seniors are unlikely to sign up on their own.

Seventy-six-year old Martin Johnson is a retired social worker in Santa Fe who struggles to make ends meet. He says people in his and his parents’ generations didn’t like to ask for government assistance for things like food.

“My father would’ve said it’s a matter of pride," Johnson said. "You know, I try very hard to be self-sufficient myself. I thought I was very good at it, but it didn’t help."

The National Council on Aging has found some seniors don’t believe they would be eligible for help, while others might not believe the benefits are worth taking the time to apply. The non-profit is actively reaching out this month – May is Older Americans Month – to dispel some of the myths and help seniors sign up for food assistance.

Update: The most recent data analyzed by the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger found a decrease in the percentage of seniors who were under threat of hunger, so New Mexico no longer has the highest rate in the Southwest, as a previous version of this story reported.

Related Content

One out of every five senior citizens in New Mexico isn't getting enough to eat, according to a report from United Health Foundation. The America's Health Ranking Senior Report looks at this and other issues facing the aging population.

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Celeste Headlee. Michel Martin is away. Coming up, we'll get an update on the humanitarian crisis in Syria. But first, we turn to an issue that affects one out of every seven humans in America, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP. Back in 2009, in the depths of the recession, President Obama increased SNAP benefits using stimulus funds, but the temporary increase expired this past Friday.